This month, we had the chance to try Eleganza, the brand new edible modelling paste by the people who brought you Couture sugarpaste. Created for professional cake decorators and sugarcraft artists, Eleganza is made to the very highest quality. To test the paste, we decided to make a Father Christmas cake topper.
To begin, we took a tennis ball sized piece and kneaded until smooth. Eleganza is naturally firm so you may have to knead well to soften before use. We really like that it is provided in 1kg tubs, giving you plenty to work with and an airtight place to store any unused paste for another project.
After kneading, we divided into five parts, a larger piece for the red areas, two smaller for the white and flesh tone areas and an even smaller for the black elements. The paste had a lovely smooth texture and didn’t feel sticky, even with warmer hands!
To start building Father Christmas, we formed a body, two arms and two legs using the red portion, a fluffy trim using a tiny piece of the white and two mittens, two boots and a belt using the black. The paste coloured well and didn’t appear grainy or break down after the gel colours were combined. We were also very impressed with how successfully it held its shape; we were able to build and form each piece in no time without signs of misshaping or sinking.
After applying more white trim to the jacket, we affixed the face using the flesh tone piece inserting a cocktail stick through the body to keep the head stable. To create the eyes, we pressed in two sugar pearls and then added the beard using more white paste. To finish the basic shaping, we attached a hat with a white trim and fluffy ball. At this point, we hadn’t used any edible glue or water to secure the pieces, the paste seemed to bond itself together quite well but it’s always recommended to use a little edible glue where needed to be extra safe.
To exaggerate the fluffy trims, we used a dresden tool and lightly dotted around all the white areas except the beard. Using the dresden tool again, we added creases to the arms, hat and body for texture. Although we had been working on the figure for a little while, it was still soft enough for us to add extra detailing. This is a great feature for modelling paste as you don’t feel you have to rush to finish what you’re working on before it fully sets.
To complete our Father Christmas, we dusted everything in a light layer of edible gold lustre using a dry soft brush.
Overall, we were very impressed with the new Eleganza modelling paste. It’s smooth but stable texture and slower drying time make it fantastic to work with. It’s supplied in resealable tubs, has a wonderful sweet vanilla flavour and helps produce fabulous cake toppers and detailing for all your cakes, cupcakes, cookies and more. Highly recommended!
